Food Tumbler

ABSTRACT

A counter-top appliance has a food container with internal fins extending inward from the outer wall at an angle offset from radial. The food container is coupled to a motor for rotation in either of two directions. One direction of rotation produces a scooping, elevating and subsequent discharge of liquid and fluent materials such as might be useful for washing or breading, while the second direction of rotation presents a surface adapted for massaging meat during marinating. The food container is preferably sealed through vacuum, and has a simple geometry which greatly facilitates thorough cleaning of the container. Meats, produce, pasta, and other diverse foods are processed using the counter-top appliance, and a method for processing one or a sequential set of foods is disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. application Ser.No. 10/237,004 filed Sep. 7, 2002 and granted as U.S. Pat. No. 7,229,656on Jun. 12, 2007, which in turn claims priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication 60/317,785 filed Sep. 7, 2001, the contents of each whichare incorporated herein by reference in entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention pertains generally to food processes andapparatus, and more specifically to a versatile counter-top tumblerapparatus and an associated tumbling process. The food tumbler andtumbling process are useful to selectively marinate meat, toss salads,cleanse food, bread foods, and for other similar purposes.

2. Description of the Related Art

The processing of food has always been a labor intensive task.Nevertheless, the need to safely prepare food is of vital importance,and has historically dictated the difference between entirecivilizations rising or falling. Associated with the need for safe foodpreparation is the desire to enable a person to readily prepare morepalatable and diverse meals with a minimum of expertise or training. Asa result of the importance of food preparation, and the significantimpact on health or labor even relatively small improvements will have,there has been much effort devoted through the ages on this task and agreat many inventions pertaining thereto.

In the area of food safety, many techniques have been researched anddeveloped which are provided to improve the safety of the food supply.Exemplary among these are the various inspections performed by thevarious governmental agricultural agencies, such as the United StatesDepartment of Agriculture (USDA) designed to ensure proper handling andprocessing of food prior to human consumption. Proper education andtraining is directly associated with the resulting safety and quality ofa food. While these efforts have lead to an exceptionally safe foodsupply in the United States with regard to pathogens, which by many isconsidered to be among the best ever available, there continue to besignificant instances where persons are inadvertently sickened,occasionally resulting in death. Owing to the reasonable limits onmanpower for food inspection and inspection of food growers, handlersand preparers, it is impossible to provide inspection and verificationof all food which enters into the marketplace for consumption. Only afraction of a percent of food grown or imported is inspected, and costsfor various analytical techniques restrict the extent of theseinspections. Consequently, it is desirable to have a means for easilycleansing the food prior to final preparation and consumption which willimprove the safety of the food, in the event the food has not beeninspected and does, in fact, contain undesired pathogens, pesticides,herbicides or other contaminants.

Safety of food extends beyond the presence of foreign contaminants, andalso includes the contents of the food when prepared a particular way.One popular method of cooking meat is grilling or barbecue cooking overa flame. This cooking method has been linked to increased risks ofbreast, stomach and colorectal cancer, owing to the formation ofheterocyclic amines (HCAs) during the cooking process. However,marinating meat before grilling has been shown to reduce the amount ofHCAs formed during grilling, in some cases by as much as 92 to 99percent. Consequently, one preferred method for improving not only thetaste of flame-grilled meats but also the safety thereof is to marinatethe meat prior to grilling.

Safety of prepared food is only one concern. As aforementioned,preparation time, effort and training required of the food preparer areall also very important. In other words, the need for extensive humaneffort and expertise during food preparation may also be prohibitive,and thus deter otherwise desired preparation. While cleansing iscertainly one such step requiring preparation time, effort and training,there are many other steps in food preparation that have historicallybeen similarly labor intensive. Exemplary is the mixing of ingredientsfor tossed salad, cole slaw, pasta salad and the like. These foods havetraditionally been prepared entirely by hand, owing to the fragilenature of the foods and the importance of even distribution ofingredients. Preparation of such ingredients in advance is difficult orimpossible, owing to the inevitable separation of ingredients thatoccurs over time. Breading is another step that has been manuallyperformed for smaller quantities of foods, with machinery available onlyfor larger food establishments and food preparation businesses. Whenfoods are breaded substantially in advance of cooking, such as when doneon a commercial basis, the food must be frozen to maintain the qualityof the breading through the handling and distribution of the food.Marinating meats is another area similar to breading, where machineryhas only been available for larger commercial establishments. Examplesof these marinating machines are found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,766 toStarkweather; 3,928,634 to Gasbarro; and 4,458,586 to Reed. The existingequipment has not been adequate for household use, owing to a largenumber of issues such as safety, cost of the complex equipment, and thelack of desire by a homeowner or apartment dweller to dedicate space fora single or limited function machine.

While safety, preparation time and effort, and complexity are allimportant factors from a utilitarian perspective, the variety of foodsand the tastes, textures, appearances and aromas of those foods alsoserves as a measure of the quality and desirability of the foodpreparation. Consequently, more foods that are easily prepared andconsumed, and greater varieties of pleasing flavors, tastes and aromasimparted to those foods, are desired.

Various machines and devices have been proposed in the prior art thatattempt to address one or several of these important factors associatedwith food preparation. For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,081,070 to Welschand 3,439,901 to McCulloch each illustrate salad mixers that aredesigned to tumble a salad without the squashing or bruising that istypical with hand preparation. While each of these products are novel intheir design and construction, they are limited in application tolettuce and other types of salads, and both are prone to leakage andfailure. Other inventions have contemplated tumbling for other foodproducts, such as the tumble churn illustrated by Clegg in U.S. Pat. No.2,597,291, the contents which are incorporated herein by reference withregard to the teachings of a tumbler base and drive system. While theClegg base and motor drive system offers much benefit over other priorart techniques, the Clegg container is designed to contain milk orcream, and act as a butter chum or other tumbling, agitating or mixingcontainer. Unfortunately, the Clegg screw cap and depending vanes arerelatively limited in application, since they are neither sturdy nordesigned to prevent liquids from passing between them and the outerwall. In fact, the vanes will likely, with repeated usage, be deflectedaway form the edge of the container wall at one end or the other.Consequently, very little if any liquid may be actually carried upon thevanes, a limitation that is very consequential as will be betterunderstood herein below. In addition, the screw-on cap is difficult tomanipulate when a chef or cook's hands are either wet or oily,conditions which are commonplace within a food preparation area.Finally, the tapered neck on the Clegg container complicates accesswithin the container, both for food insertion and removal, and also forcleaning of the container after food preparation using the container iscompleted. In fact, owing to the inherent limitations, the Cleggcontainer is limited in application to materials that are generallyfluid in nature and which are also relatively homogenous. This is acommon limitation of the prior art.

Clearly, there is much to be desired in this vital area of foodpreparation that has net been adequately addressed by the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a first manifestation, the invention is, in combination, a sealablecontainer; a motor; and a coupler. The sealable container receives andretains foods within an outer wall. The container has at least onepaddle which extends inward from the outer wall in a direction which isangularly offset from radial. The coupler transmits motion from motor tosealable container in either of a first direction of rotation whichrotates the sealable container to trap liquid between paddle and outerwall above an at-rest liquid level and a second direction of rotationopposite the first direction of rotation which rotates the sealablecontainer to discharge liquid between paddle and outer wall by theat-rest liquid level.

In a second manifestation, the invention is a household kitchencounter-top appliance adapted for the tumbling of various solid andliquid foods and food ingredients within a tumbler. The appliance has amotor for spinning said tumbler about a rotary axis. The tumblerconsists essentially of a generally circular bottom; cylindrical sidewalls extending from bottom to an opening distal to the bottom andforming a rim adjacent the opening; and a cover engaging the rim andretained thereto solely by a pressure differential between an interiorand an exterior of the tumbler.

In a third manifestation, the invention is a method of tumbling food.Food and ingredients are added to a container, and the container iscovered. A vacuum apparatus is attached to the container and is used todraw a vacuum therein. A food treatment function and duration oftreatment are selected. The container is coupled to a rotary drive andtumbled responsive to the selecting step. The container is openedsubsequent to tumbling, and the tumbled food and ingredients are removedfrom the container.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention solve inadequacies of theprior art by providing safe and easy to use apparatus and methods tomarinate, toss, bread and cleanse food. A first object of the inventionis to simplify the process of safely preparing food, whilesimultaneously improving the overall safety of the prepared food. Asecond object of the invention is to enable rapid and safe counter-topmeat marination. Another object of the present invention is to simplifythe process of preparing salads of all types, and reduce the amount oftime and labor required. A further object of the invention is to providethe same components in an appropriate configuration to be capable of thevery diverse functions of marinating, breading, tossing, and cleansingwith the need for few if any additional components. Yet another objectof the present invention is to provide these aforementioned objectivesthrough the careful design of the components, thereby reducing thenumber and complexity of parts, enabling reasonably priced manufacture,and simplifying the cleaning and storage of the equipment between foodpreparation uses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, advantages, and novel features of thepresent invention can be understood and appreciated by reference to thefollowing detailed description of the invention, taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates a preferred embodiment tumbler container designed inaccord with the present invention by exploded, projected view, andincluding a preferred embodiment food basket therein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a preferred embodiment tumbler base for use incombination with the preferred embodiment tumbler of FIG. 1 from aprojected plan view.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic cross-sectional view of the preferredembodiment tumbler and tumbler base of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 illustrates a preferred embodiment method of food preparationwhich incorporates many of the advantages and objectives of the presentinvention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Manifested in the preferred embodiment, the present invention providesflexibility of application in a readily understood and easy to usepackage, while still preserving both the safety of the food preparer andalso the persons consuming the food. In a most preferred embodiment ofthe invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-3, food tumbler 10 includes a foodcontainer 11 of generally cylindrical configuration. Side walls 12, abottom 14 and two paddles 16, 18 are most preferably formed integrallywith container 11, thereby simplifying manufacture and reducingproduction costs. Paddles 16, 18 are most preferably formed at an angleof approximately 33 degrees from a radius line R, which enables paddles16, 18 to form a lifting scoop in conjunction with side wall 12 whenrotated in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3. The angle willpreferably be between approximately twenty and sixty degrees. Too smallan angle will result in a loss of fluent material lifting, while toogreat an angle will produce undesirably small corners and tight spaceswhere food residue may accumulate. Other geometries besides therelatively straight paddles illustrated are also contemplated, so longas the geometries most preferably preserve the lifting and massagingfunctions.

A basket 70 may optionally be used, depending upon the various foods andother ingredients being tumbled. In this preferred embodiment, basket 70has relatively large slots 72 therein, which permit liquids or powdersfrom outside of basket 70 but within container 11 to be distributed overfood that is more gently carried within basket 70. Basket 70 iscontemplated herein for use with such diverse foods as leaf vegetables,fruits, and any other fragile foods, and also for the breading of meatsand vegetables, though many other applications will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art of food preparation.

Exterior fluent material will be exposed to the raising and droppingaction of paddles 16, 18, but the contents of basket 70 will not be.Consequently, a marinade, flour or breading mix, vinegar and oildressings, cleaning solutions or other liquids or fluent materials willbe elevated and dropped through gravity into basket 70, while thecontents already within basket 70 are handled more gently. Rotation ofcontainer 11 in a clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 3 scoops liquidsand fluent materials for more effective washing of produce and spreadingof breading mixes and the like.

Rotation in a counter-clockwise direction using the orientation of FIG.3 will most preferably be performed without basket 70 in place. Thisorientation of paddles 16, 18 results in a more optimum marinating ofmeats. Paddles 16, 18 serve in this orientation to rub or massage themeat during the tumbling, without tearing up more fragile meats ortissues. Consequently, the preferred angling of paddles 16, 18 permitscontainer 11 to be used optimally for washing and distributing fluent orfluid materials through rotation in a first direction, and also usedoptimally for the marinating of meat through rotation opposite to thefirst direction. This reversal is achieved through the step of placingcontainer 11 either with cover 20 adjacent to switch 33 with base 14distal thereto for rotation in a first direction, or with cover 20distal to switch 33 and with base 14 adjacent to switch 33 for rotationin a second direction. This arrangement eliminates the need for anyspecial electrical or electronic circuitry or switches to reverse thedirection of rollers 45, though such circuitry is a contemplatedalternative herein. The ability to reverse rotation and change theaction of paddles 16, 18 thereby further simplifies the construction offood tumbler 10, while extending functionality and capability of thepresent invention.

A cover 20 includes a mating feature 22 which cooperatively seals foodcontainer 11. This mating feature may take the form of a simple snaplip, a mating pair of threads, or a gasket 22 as shown in the preferredembodiment. Gasket 22 is appropriate where vacuum is applied, since theatmospheric pressure on the outside of cover 20 provides the forcesnecessary to compress gasket 22 and seal container 11. As illustrated, avacuum seal is most preferred since the vacuum not only provides sealingforce, but also speeds the processes of cleansing, coating andmarinating food. A vacuum seal simultaneously simplifies closure ofcontainer 11 and the cleaning thereof after use. Cover 20 for vacuumapplications will most preferably include dome 24 for strength, and willhave a vacuum port 26 therein. Applications not requiring a vacuum, suchas salad tumbling, will also not require dome 24 or port 26.

In the preferred embodiment tumbler 10 illustrated, port 26 includes aone-way valve such as plug 28. Plug 28 is designed to interact withfeatures in port 26 to enable air to be withdrawn from within container11 through port 26, but will not allow the air to return back intocontainer 11. This may be accomplished by designing the bulb end of plug28 to seal with the exterior edge of port 26, while grooves or othersurface irregularities may be formed on the interior surface of port 26,preventing a seal between the inside flare of plug 28 and the interiorof port 26. This way, when vacuum is drawn around plug 28, the exteriorbulb portion of plug 28 will be drawn away from port 26, and theinterior portion will not seal, allowing air to be drawn out ofcontainer 11. When vacuum is released from about plug 28, atmosphericpressure will then be greater than the pressure inside container 11, andplug 28 will be pressed against the outside of port 26, forming a seal.When container 11 is to be opened, the large exterior bulb of plug 28may be deformed, breaking the seal with port 26 and permitting air topass into container 11. This eliminates the vacuum seal, and allowscover 20 to be readily removed from side walls 12.

Container 11 and cover 20 are removable from tumbler 10, to simplifyloading or charging container 11 with contents, and also to simplifyunloading and cleaning thereof. In the preferred embodiment, container11 and cover 20 will most preferably be dimensioned to fit within astandard household dishwasher, and to be manufactured fromdishwasher-safe materials to withstand the dishwasher detergent anddishwasher temperatures. This simplifies the cleaning of container 11after use.

Tumbler 10 also includes a base housing 30, which in the preferredembodiment encloses a motor, transmission and roller shafts 44, 46 suchas illustrated in the Clegg patent incorporated herein above byreference. Various rollers 45 are supported on the shafts and driven asalso illustrated in Clegg. Housing 30 which acts as a cover for themotor and transmission, while also providing a surface for a usercontrol panel 32. In the preferred embodiment an electronic timer isused as a switch 33 that controls electric power applied to the motor.Switch 33 may take many different forms besides the electronic timer,including but not limited to rotary timer switches, simple on-offswitches, rotary speed controls, various electronic keypads and touchpanels, and other known user interfaces.

In order to allow cooling of transmission and motor, passive vents mayalso be provided in housing 30, though vents are less preferred owing tothe possibility for food or liquids to pass therein and not be removedby an operator. Where appropriate, those skilled in the art may add suchfeatures as cooling fans and the like. For the present preferredembodiment however, simpler design and construction are preferred inorder to keep the manufactured costs relatively lower, thereby enablingmore persons to afford the opportunity to acquire and use the presentinvention.

Housing 30 most preferably also includes a border 35 which is preferablysomewhat lower than control panel 32. Extending from an inner edge ofborder 35 is a wall 36 having slots 37 formed therein. Through slots 37rollers 45 pass for engagement with container side wall 12. Rollers 45are spaced apart sufficiently to cradle container 11 therein along twohorizontal lines, and housing 30 acts as a further retainer along twoadditional horizontal lines transverse to container 11. Consequently,container 11 will nest into rollers 45, and be driven thereby. The slopeof wall 36 is preferred to direct any liquids that may have been spilledfrom or onto an exterior of container 11 during loading to settle incentral lower region 38 for easy subsequent cleaning. Alternatively,central lower region 38 may be provided with a drain and liquidcollection device, the exact construction which will be decided by thedesigner.

According to the preferred food tumbling method 400, a user will beginthe preparation for a meal by selecting food and various additionalingredients. In the present example, this may for exemplary purposesinclude preparing a marinade, and gathering a meat of choice. The meatand marinade will be placed within container 11 as shown in FIG. 4 atstep 410 of tumbling process 400, and cover 20 will be placed thereon asshown at step 415. A vacuum apparatus is then most preferably attachedto port 26 as shown at step 420, and a vacuum is drawn at step 425. Avariety of techniques for drawing and retaining a vacuum within acontainer are known in the food industry, and the details thereof arenot important to the present invention. However, various appliances areknown that may be used, either through continuous attachment, or byapplication and removal. Such devices include both manual andelectrically powered pumps, including battery powered devices. If thevacuum is applied only once prior to the start of tumbling, which is thepreferred embodiment, port 26 will require a valve mechanism such asplug 28, a flapper valve, or the like to permit air to be withdrawn,while not permitting liquids to escape during tumbling.

The tumbling function and appropriate time are preferably determined asshown at step 430. In the preferred embodiment, control panel 32 will beimprinted with a basic time chart for various food treatments and foods.Additionally, the orientation of container 11 with respect to housing 30will need to be determined, to select whether meats are to be massagedor fluent materials to be lifted by paddles 16, 18. Container 11 is nextplaced upon rollers 45 within base 30 as shown at step 435, and switch33 is activated to begin tumbling the meat within marinade at step 440.This tumbling will most preferably be based upon the selections made atstep 430, and will be regulated by a timer or the like. This processwill typically require only about fifteen minutes for most meats tomarinate, during which time the user may prepare lettuce, pasta, orother ingredients for a salad. When the meat within container 11 hasbeen sufficiently marinated, and this may involve the absorption of fromas little as desired to forty percent or more by weight of marinade,container 11 will be removed from housing 30 and stood on bottom 14 asshown at step 445. Container 11 will be opened next, as shown at step450. In the preferred embodiment, opening container 11 comprises flexingthe external bulb on plug 28 to break the vacuum seal. The food withincontainer 11, in this example the meat, will be removed at step 455.Finally, container 11 and cover 20 are washed at step 460 and arethereby prepared for the next use.

This tumbling process 400 may be repeated while the marinated meat isbeing cooked. For exemplary purposes, a salad may be prepared while themeat is cooking. In this case, step 405 will be included, which involvesinserting basket 70 within container 11. Lettuce leaves and other partsof the salad that need washed or sanitized will most preferably be addedat step 410. In addition, the cleaning and sanitizing liquid will mostpreferably be added. Most preferably, this liquid will comprise avinegar and water mixture having approximately one and one-quarterpercent by volume acetic acid concentration. The container 11 will becovered and vacuumed as in steps 415-425, and the function will beselected to orient paddles 16, 18 for lifting liquid, which is theclockwise rotation from the view of FIG. 3. As may be seen in FIG. 3, ifline RR is a horizontal line dividing container 11 into two equalhalves, the angle of paddles 16, 18 will ensure that liquid is carriedabove line RR and dropped at some point thereafter. This allows theliquid to be dispensed across a larger area of the tumbler, and allowsgravitational forces to accelerate the liquid to further assist in thecleaning function.

When container 11 has been sufficiently tumbled as shown at step 440,container 11 will be removed from housing 30 and stood on end. The foodwhich has been cleaned and sanitized may be lifted out of container 11within basket 70, and rinsed with fresh water within basket 70 as well.The fresh water rinse is preferred to remove any vinegar taste orresidue, though this rinsing is not essential to the operation of theinvention. At this point, the salad greens have been cleaned andsanitized.

By way of example, the tumbling process of sanitizing has beendemonstrated to be highly effective on ordinary retail produce, as thefollowing examples illustrate. In the following examples, reverseosmosis (RO) purified water was used as a control treatment and comparedagainst both ozonated RO water and the preferred vinegar and watersolution described herein above of one and one-quarter percent by volumeacetic acid. Microbial analyses were performed on the various rinsesolutions, and plate counts were performed using 3M brand Petrifilm.Aerobic Count Plates (ACP) estimate total aerobic spoilage bacteria.Coliform and E. Coli were measured, and are comonly used as indicatorsfor the possible presence of fecal pathogens Yeast and mold countsmeasure the numbers of these respective types of spoilagemicro-organisms that are present. The following percentage reductions inplate counts are calculated with reference to the control rinsesolutions described above. Noteworthy is the fact that ozone, vinegar,ultraviolet light, and other antimicrobials may all be used assterilizing compounds.

EXAMPLE 1

Alfalfa sprouts purchased at a grocery store were tumbled for 3 minutes.In addition to a control group tumbled with RO water as described above,a second group was tumbled with ozonated RO water which was ozonatedusing a Water Pik brand ozonator. A third group was tumbled with thevinegar and water solution: Rinse ACP Coliform E. Coli Yeast MoldOzonated 24.14%    75% Not 6.25%   200% RO measuredVinegar >98.28% >99.98% Not 97.5% >99.95% RO measured

EXAMPLE 2

Mushrooms purchased at a grocery store were tumbled for 3 minutes. Inaddition to a control group tumbled with RO water as described above, asecond group was tumbled with ozonated RO water which was ozonated usinga Water Pik brand ozonator. A third group was tumbled with the vinegarand water solution: Rinse ACP Coliform E. Coli Yeast Mold Ozonated RO30.77%    0% 400% 45.16% 1,566.67% Vinegar RO >99.85% >96.7% >75% 98.35%83.33%

EXAMPLE 3

Raspberries purchased at a grocery store were tumbled for one andone-half minutes using RO water for control. In addition to a controlgroup tumbled with RO water, a second group was tumbled with the vinegarand water solution: Rinse ACP Coliform E. Coli Yeast Mold VinegarRO >95% >67% Not measured 99.67% >99.92%These examples demonstrate that the preferred tumbling method removesharmful pathogens, resulting in increased levels of pathogens in the ROwater control groups. The addition of vinegar to the RO water serves toadditionally sanitize the food against a broad spectrum of pathogens, asevidenced by the destruction of the pathogens relative to plain ROwater.

When the sanitizing tumbling process described above is completed,tumbling process 400 may be repeated yet again. This time, tumblingprocess 400 may be used to toss all of the salad ingredients at oncewithin container 11. Basket 70 will preferably be inserted intocontainer 11. Salad ingredients are then added to container 11,including vinegar, oil, spices or other dressings at step 410. Cover 20will once again be placed, vacuum drawn to seal container 11, thefunction and time selected, and container 11 nested once more withinbase 30 at steps 415, 420, 425, 430 and 435 respectively. Switch 33 isagain activated at step 440, this time typically for a much shorterduration, and the salad ingredients will be thoroughly mixed. While thisis but one of many methods for practicing the present invention, it isapparent that food tumbler 10 may be used for a variety of diverse foodpreparation processes, even within the same meal.

The most preferred materials for container 11, cover 20, and housing 30are plastic resins, which may or may not include various reinforcingfibers or particles, and other ingredients known to enhance theproperties of the composition and resulting product. The resins willmost preferably be food grade, and be accompanied by low cost and readymanufacture to custom geometries. Nevertheless, other food gradematerials may be used, including but not limited to various steels,brass, glass and the like. Where preferred, additional containers may bcprovided, and various colors may be imparted into the differentcontainers 11 that have significance regarding the contents of theparticular container. For example, where ultimate food safety is aconcern, one container may be provided for meat tumbling of a firstcolor, while a second, differently colored container may be used forproduce. The components may be opaque, transparent or translucent, andmay alternatively include a design or label that identifies the purposeof the container.

The most preferred embodiment food tumbler 10, by way of illustrationbut not limiting thereto, has a container 11 that measures approximatelyseven and one-half inches in inside diameter and seven inches in length.The diameter of container 11 will preferably be in a range fromapproximately four to twenty inches in diameter. Too small of a diameterreduces the washing effect, while too large a diameter makes the machinephysically too large for the intended purpose. Performance issues arealso introduced. Paddles 16, 18 extend approximately one and one-quarterinches from the inner surface of walls 12 towards the center-most edgethereof, though these may vary in accord with the overall size ofcontainer 11. Basket 70 has an inside diameter of approximately fiveinches, of course sized to nest within container 11. Container 11 whenpowered most preferably completes between approximately 20 and 25rotations per minute (RPM), and preferably will operate within a rangeof approximately ten and forty RPM. Too slow a rotation will not moveliquid or fluent components effectively, while too fast a rotation willresult in undesirable centrifuging of the food within container 11.Using these preferred dimensions and rotational speeds, grocery chicken,beef and pork are most preferably tumbled for between fifteen and twentyminutes to adequately marinate, with a range extending between zero andforty minutes. Less-than-preferred tumbling time reduces the amount ofmarinade absorbed into the animal flesh, while longer-than-preferredtumbling time excessively breaks down the tissue. The preferredcontainer is sized to conveniently hold up to four pounds of meat andone pound of marinade, and will consequently increase the total weightof the meat by one quarter, from four to five pounds.

Produce washing is dependent upon the hardness or softness of the fruitor vegetable being washed. For soft fruits including strawberries,raspberries and the like, only one to two minutes of tumbling isadequate. For typical vegetables and firmer fruits such as mushrooms,alfalfa sprouts and the like, three to five minutes of tumbling is mostpreferred. Shorter times limit the amount of cleaning, while longerdurations may damage the produce. The various diameters, dimensions andrates of rotation may be optimized for one or more applications in lightof the present disclosure, as will be apparent to those skilled in theart.

The invention may reasonably be extended through the addition of othercomponents. Among those contemplated, but not limited thereto, areadditional cleansing structures arranged at the inner surface of walls12. These may most preferably take the form of non-woven cleaning padssold under the trademark “Scotch-Brite” by 3M Corporation of St. Paul,Minn., USA, though other pads, bristles or similar known cleaningsurfaces may be used with the present invention. The placement of theseadditional cleaning structures about the perimeter of container 11enhances the efficacy of cleaning the more difficult to clean foods,such as root vegetables and the like, and in some instances may provideadditional cushioning for the produce.

Another extension is the inclusion of cooling packs around the perimeterof container 11. A cooling pad offers the ability to either simply chilla food, or convert it into a phase-changed state such as ice-cream orthe like. This type of pad may be rigid or pliable, and will preferablybe stored in the freezer. Suitable compounds will most preferableundergo a very endothermic phase-change to most efficiently cool thecontents of container 11.

While the foregoing details what is felt to be the preferred embodimentof the invention, no material limitations to the scope of the claimedinvention are intended. Further, features and design alternatives thatwould be obvious to one of ordinary skill in the art are considered tobe incorporated herein. The scope of the invention is set forth andparticularly described in the claims hereinbelow.

1. In combination: a sealable container that receives and retains foodswithin an outer wall having at least one paddle therein which extendsinward from said outer wall in a direction which is angularly offsetfrom radial; a motor; and a coupler for transmitting motion from saidmotor to said scalable container in either of a first direction ofrotation which rotates said sealable container to trap liquid betweensaid paddle and said outer wall above an at-rest liquid level and asecond direction of rotation opposite said first direction of rotationwhich rotates said sealable container to discharge liquid between saidpaddle and said outer wall by said at-rest liquid level.
 2. Thecombination of claim 1 further comprising a basket inside of saidsealable container and said at least one paddle having an externalsurface facing said sealable container outer wall and an internalsurface, and at least one opening extending through said basket fromsaid basket external surface to said basket internal surface throughwhich said liquid may pass.
 3. The combination of claim 1 furthercomprising a port extending through said sealable container outer wallwhich permits air to pass selectively from an interior of said sealablecontainer to an exterior of said sealable container to thereby form apartial vacuum therein.
 4. The combination of claim 3 further comprisingan acetic acid solution within said sealable container.
 5. Thecombination of claim 4 wherein said foods further comprise produce. 6.The combination of claim 4 wherein said foods further comprise meat. 7.The combination of claim 3 further comprising: a removable coverenclosing an opening in said sealable container; a gasket seal betweensaid removable cover and said outer wall; and a partial vacuum withinsaid sealable container and atmospheric pressure exterior to saidsealable container, said gasket seal compressed by forces generated froma pressure difference resulting from said partial vacuum.
 8. Thecombination of claim 1 wherein said sealable container has an internaldiameter of less than eight inches and a rate of rotation of saidsealable container occurs between twenty and twenty-five rotations perminute.
 9. The combination of claim 8 further comprising tumbling meatfor less than forty minutes.
 10. A household kitchen counter-topappliance adapted for the tumbling of various solid and liquid foods andfood ingredients within a tumbler and having a motor for spinning saidtumbler about a rotary axis, said tumbler consisting essentially of: agenerally circular bottom; cylindrical side walls extending from saidbottom to an opening distal said bottom and forming a rim adjacent saidopening; and a cover engaging said rim and retained thereto solely by apressure differential between an interior and an exterior of saidtumbler.
 11. The household kitchen counter-top appliance of claim 10further comprising a means for preferentially transporting said varioussolid and liquid foods and food ingredients adjacent said cylindricalside walls during said spinning in a first direction about said rotaryaxis above a horizontal center of said retaining means and subsequentlyreleasing said various solid and liquid foods to accelerate saideffective amount of said various solid and liquid foods through theforce of gravity when said tumbler spins, said transporting meansineffective at said preferential transporting of said various solid andliquid foods and food ingredients when spinning in a second directionabout said rotary axis opposite said first direction.